The prospects positioned to campaign for the top spots in-house and within the game at large.

Prospecting is all about the future, so let's look deep into the coming year and try to figure out who might be topping next year's prospect lists in their respective organizations, as well as who could be moving up, down, or even out, beginning today with the American League.

The top 15 organizations of prospectdom, with the reasons why they are where they are, and why they might move down.

1. Oakland Athletics
Last Year's Ranking: 2
Why They Might Be Better Than This: Their Triple-A rotation, led by Trevor Cahill and Brett Anderson, could be better than some big-league rotations; Michael Ynoa is the best Latin American prospect of the decade; 2008 draftees Jemile Weeks and Rashun Dixon bring much-needed tools to an advanced group of hitters.
Why They Might Be Worse: Ynoa has yet to pitch in a pro game; expected to be the fifth starter, lefty Gio Gonzalez might fit better in the bullpen; there is plenty of debate among scouts concerning the ceilings of hitters like Aaron Cunningham and Sean Doolittle.
Outlook For 2010: Could depend as much on how well the big-league team does during the first half of the season as anything else, as the second half is either spent gunning for a post-season spot or the beginning of a rebuilding mode, which could mean that a number of players will lose their prospect status going into 2010.

The trade between the Indians and Brewers shouldn't be so easily boiled down, but there it is.

Tonight in Milwaukee, Brewers fans will pack Miller Park for what they hope will be the start of a run that ends sometime in October. Despite some dalliances with the wild card in 2006 and 2007, the Brewers haven't been relevant on the national stage since 1992, when they chased the Blue Jays to the last weekend in the AL East before succumbing. That ends now, as CC Sabathia takes the mound against the Colorado Rockies, signaling the Brewers' intent not just to build a contender, but to be a championship team.

The early returns on PECOTA's projecting last season's big-bonus draft choices.

This was the first year that we attempted to run PECOTA forecasts for players with no professional playing time whatsoever. It was a decision born out of necessity: because of all the brinkmanship in the signing bonus negotiation period last year, a large number of elite draft picks either did not start their seasons until August, or didn't play professionally at all.

1. Tampa Bay RaysLast Year's Ranking: 1Why They're Unchanged: Evan Longoria's full-season debut went even better than expected, and they added No. 1 overall pick David Price to the system.Strengths: Yes. There are just tons of prospects everywhere, as 20 of MLB's 30 teams don't have one prospect ranked higher than Tampa's fifth-rated player.Weaknesses: It's hard to figure out what to do with all of this talent. Seriously, they're not just No. 1, they're No. 1 by a mile.Outlook for 2009 Ranking: Unchanged. Even with Longoria in the big leagues, the Rays have more than enough talent to remain at the top, and once again, they have the first overall pick in June.